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Monday, September 15, 2008

Whaaaaat?

Oh, my Tater-bug. He works SO hard to listen, and to make sense out of what he hears. I’m usually amazed at how much he gets RIGHT, and we’re sometimes amused at what got garbled. Fortunately he is NOT, at this point, self-conscious about getting clarification. Oh no, if anything we need to work more on being gracious in self-advocating!

I’d love it if he would repeat back what he thought he heard, so I could sort out the error without repeating everything, but sometimes what he thought he heard actually makes sense. In some weird way.

Like my grandma. Her parents came over from Sweden and – at least when she was small – spoke Swedish at home. As a little girl, her English had some “holes”. She laughed about the hymns they sang at church, like “Ask a sailor to help you…” (Go Navy?) or “Have a chocolate Jesus…” (Better than a bunny at Easter!) Okay, if you aren’t familiar… “Ask the Savior to help you” and “Have a talk with Jesus”. But my personal favorite was her classic: “Bringing in the sheets, bringing in the sheets, we shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheets.”

Yup, those American Christians apparently take their laundry seriously!

6 comments:

Lol! I like those! We are getting to know a Spanish speaking family. They are learning English and it is coming along quite well considering they've only been here two months. Our Spanish on the other hand, leaves much to be desired. :-P

Those are amusing "misses"! I have been HoH since the age of 25, and have tried to practice repeating what parts I HEARD. It can be very funny! (Like the time I thought my husband was saying "sweetheart!" and I said, "yes dear?" Only to find him walking around a car that he described as "SWEET car!") Repeating the parts you heard helps in two important ways I think! 1) It helps those with normal hearing better understand how certain words can be misunderstood. They learn to use synonyms well, in order to get their true intent across. (A better vocab is always a plus! Don't I talk like the homeschooler I am?) 2) it helps everyone... including the HoHearie to learn to see the "funny" in misunderstandings. It promotes a positive outlook instead of pity parties!

Too funny with the confused hymns! Nolan doesn't really talk yet, but we do notice some confusion with his receptive language with similar sounding words! "Go get the book" might result in him bringing us a bear or a boot!

You were my "inspiration" for this post - glad you found it :0) I love how repeating the error and appreciating the humor in it defuses the situation.

Just yesterday Gunnar (who has normal hearing) misunderstood something TATE said, and Tate started to get huffy about it. It took a couple minutes and telling the Swedish grandma story (she died before they were born) and then they could all laugh about it.

Henry often asks me to repeat...frustrating at times, but I know that he is trying to buy himself some time so he can process what I've just said, and then respond to me. If I ask him what he *thinks* I just said, he will usually get it right.

About Me

I am a Christian, a wife, and a home-educating SAHM to three very enthusiastic boys. Trying to focus their energy, attention, and exuberance is like herding grasshoppers.
I have a dream, from Isaiah… “My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.” But the reality is more like “Zena, Queen of the Testosterzone!”
We have a lot more "odd" than "awed" in our lives. Welcome to our corner of friendly chaos.